Obstacles
by thang92
Summary: Post 'Leap of Faith' episode, Sharon is feeling insecure in her new relationship with Alden again. Obstacles are thrown upon their relationship as they near the end of 9th grade and get ready to become sophomores. Includes Sharon getting her braces off and more! Please R&R this is my first fanfic ever and I would love to get some feedback thanks for reading.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note**

I've always wanted to do a Braceface fanfic and I've finally gotten around to doing it, excuse all the references to previous episodes if you aren't familiar with them. I want the consistency of the story from where it left off to be perfect, therefore please let me know if you like the direction this story is going and if not some suggestions and constructive criticism would be great.

**Disclaimer**

I do NOT own Braceface in any shape or form.

**Chapter 1**

Ever since that fateful day of Sharon letting out her frustrations over the Alden and Tess situation for the whole world to see, she has been careful to not post any more journal entries online. However, Sharon couldn't help but start to write in a journal diary with a pen and paper where surely her braces wouldn't get in the way of humiliating herself as a pathetic clingy girlfriend. She found solace and comfort in letting out her most inner deep feelings over situations and circumstances in her crazy 'Braceface' life. This time was no different as she reached under her bed mattress and fished out the journal, with her mind working overtime she began to write:

Dear anonymous,

It's been 2 weeks since we got back from Enviro-Camp and began dating officially. Alden's been putting a lot of effort into making sure things go right, though it's starting to get on my nerves. I mean it's not like I don't appreciate his efforts of holding doors open for me and pushing the chair back so I can sit, I can't help feeling tense inside. Is it so wrong to be the tiniest bit bitter that he couldn't have tried harder when we were ACTUALLY dating? I mean all my friends, especially BROCK, realise that Alden didn't treat me well unlike the loving way he treated Marlo his ex girlfriend while THEY were dating. It just makes me feel like I'm not worthy; these crazy thoughts are constantly at the back of my head every time I'm with Alden and it's eating me alive. Maria thinks I'm being overly dramatic as usual, but even she can't deny the difference in the way he treated me before and the way he treats me now. She suggested I talk to Alden about it, but I can't do that and she doesn't understand why. It's obviously going to prove the point of me not getting over my 'jealousy' tendencies which was clear for everyone to see during the Tess situation. Regardless I am going to have to think of a way to try and get my feelings out to Alden without openly telling him so I can move on.

'Ughh' Sharon sighed in exasperation as she put everything back where it was and laid her head back against the bed. She was just about to work up the energy to get up and go downstairs to eat something, it was getting late and she was starving. Before she could even get up her cellphone started ringing from its place on the bed. With a knowing feeling she glanced at the screen, saw Alden's name appear on the screen heaved an inside groan and pressed talk. 'Hey Alden, what's up?' she chewed on her lower lip as she anticipated what he wanted. 'Not much just wanted to ask if you wanted to grab a bite to eat? My shift at my parent's restaurant is up and I'm starved so why don't you come over and we can have some burritos', hearing Alden's voice despite her reservations about their relationship caused butterflies in the pit of her stomach that overtime became stronger and stronger. 'I'd love to, I'll be there in 15 mins don't start without me' Sharon joked, 'haha no worries I'll try and control myself' Alden teased back. Pressing the end button on her cellphone, Sharon glanced at her reflection in the vanity mirror and sighed. It was no use; her hair just wasn't cooperating today even if she wanted it to. Although her hair looked kinda sexy with its 'bed head' appearance she hoped Alden saw it that way too. Before she got carried out with her appearance, particularly her braces, she slipped on her dark blue jean jacket and slipped out her bedroom door. Downstairs she saw her mom sitting at the kitchen table with a pile of paperwork in front of her and told her she's going to dinner with Alden, 'don't be late Sharon, your curfew's at 10pm' her mother reminded her, like she needed it! At least her mom extended her curfew to 10pm after the disaster of the 'Home Alone' debacle.

Humming to herself softly in an attempt to forget her pent up thoughts about Alden going overboard, she walked along the sidewalk towards the stores, where Alden's restaurant was. Before she got to the door of the restaurant she glanced at the window to sneak a peak of Alden without him knowing she was there. Alden was behind the register cleaning up, his face a slight flushed red colour and his hair as usual beautifully sticking up in all the right places. Sharon quickly glanced down at her outfit, which was starting to become almost like an experiment since as she and her friends were getting older their fashion sense was changing. Despite wearing one of her statement pieces: her dark blue jean jacket, the rest of her clothes was different. She had on a loose fitted black shirt which hung down and covered her derriere where her black fitted leggings couldn't, which were tucked into brown ankle boots. Relieved to not see lint in sight, she pushed the door open and walked inside. Alden glanced up and gave her a heart melting smile. She smiled back, probably not as seductively as she could have but come on; she was Sharon after all with her nerdy looking braces. Alden didn't care about them, but Sharon always felt insecure about her braces which to her relief were going to come off at the end of the year, before she become a sophomore with the rest of her close friends the coming fall. 'shoot, forgot to tell you I've got a little bit of cleaning up to do but I won't be long' he promised.

Sharon nodded to say she'd wait and sat in a booth where she pulled out her cellphone from her pocket and ringed Maria's number. 'Hey Maria, its Sharon' she said as soon as she heard Maria pick up, 'do I need a reminder?' Maria chuckled, 'I have caller id, we both do, earth to Sharon are you okay?' she half joked and half said seriously. 'I'm wondering that myself' Sharon replied, hating the way her voice was starting to take on a hopeless and dramatic tone. 'What's wrong?' Maria asked in a concerned best friend way, 'just the usual Alden stuff' Sharon replied quietly so Alden doesn't hear her, expecting Maria to start scolding her for not telling him the truth about her frustrated feelings. Instead it was just a reality check Maria is known for giving Sharon. 'Look Sharon, I don't mean to come off really hard on you but if you don't tell Alden it's just going to build up more inside and truthfully, you know you've been the happiest when your with Alden, don't you WANT to be with him?' she said this with some frustration as they've been having the same conversation for almost a week now after Sharon's elevated feelings of being with Alden again have died down a little and her mind started working long enough to conjure up thoughts of doubt. 'Of course I do! I just need a little more confirmation that I'm special to him and I don't want-'she was cut off by the approach of Alden to the booth she chose to sit in, 'I'll speak to you tomorrow at school Maria, bye' she hung up her phone and raised her eyes to meet Alden's across the small table they shared.

'So anything important I should know about?' Alden raised his right eyebrow in a cute contemplating way. 'Nope, just girl stuff' she replied a little nervously and took a small sip of water she filled from the pitcher sitting on the table. 'Alright, so what kind of burrito do you want?' Alden asked her tapping the menu on the table. 'A vegetarian one, not spicy' Sharon joked remembering her last experience with a spicy burrito on their first date together when they first went out at the end of grade 8, the time when she embarrassingly got her period on the same day. 'Haha of course' Alden replied the red flushed colour from before creeping up again at the tops of his cheeks. He squeezed her hand and got up to get their food before returning 7 minutes later. 'Sorry to keep you waiting' he kissed the top of her head as he set the food down on the table, her vegetarian burrito and his spicy one. 'No problem' she said and they both dug in, their conversation a little slow in between chewing, and as they started making conversation Alden's right foot touched her own, making it harder for Sharon to eat as her heart and breath sped up a little as the air between them electrified slightly.

They finished up their food, cleaned up and left the store hand in hand. Sharon's mind that earlier in the evening was filled with mixed thoughts slowly eased as they walked on, hands still laced together. 'So what time do you have to go home again?' Alden squeezed her hand as he said this, 'at 10 you know that' she jokingly bumped her hip against his as she sensed mischief in his voice. 'Do you realise it's only 9:30pm? We could go someplace and hang out...' his voice trailed off at the end of his suggestion, Sharon's nerves were jangled and she had to push down thoughts of what they could do in that time to a level of innocence. 'Hmm we could go to lifecycles and order mango smoothies?' She suggested trying to keep the conversation light, 'your cute, do you know that?' Before she could answer he claimed her lips in a heated kiss as he nudged her behind a store to make out. Sharon surrendered to the make out, no longer trying to resist his affectionate actions. I mean she always wanted to make out with Alden but never had a chance to when they were going out, sure they lunged at each other once in her house when they were trying to watch Adam's wrestling match but clearly Alden was only interested in her and not the game. Since then there were just kisses and then obviously nothing after the break up, until Alden forgot his memories in an ice hockey accident involving her braces and Brock's flying puck and thought she was still his girlfriend due to short term memory loss. Even then she couldn't accept his advances without guilt because of Marlo who was his REAL girlfriend at the time and suppressed her desires. However now he was HERS and she could be with him however she wanted, and at that moment she forgot all her worries and enjoyed the bliss she felt.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note**

Thank you so much for the reviews I did not expect to get any to be honest and now I'm fully commited to making this story the best it can be. Having said that please do give me constructive criticism if you have any, since like I said I want this story to be good all the way until the end. Therefore if you don't like the direction it's going or you have suggestions I would love to hear them so I can fix it :) Enjoy! Next chapter coming soon.

**Disclaimer**

I do NOT own Braceface in any shape or form.

**Chapter 2**

After they broke apart, heaving slightly, they walked on a little faster so as to not be late for Sharon's curfew. Sharon who no longer felt bitter as she knew Alden loved her more now than he ever did, hence why he's trying so hard to make sure things work out couldn't help but be curious to know the answers to her burning questions. Taking a deep breath, she slowly freed her hand from their grasp and faced Alden, who in return gave her a confused look. 'Alden you know I love you, but I just want to ask why you never showed much affection when we first dated', this threw Alden off who didn't expect such a question. 'Sharon, do you realise that even when I was going out with Marlo I was constantly thinking about you and had feelings for you? Do you think I forgot the few days we were together again when I got knocked out unconscious? Those few days for me Sharon was torture, I felt like the biggest jerk on the planet for ever leaving you. I thought that's the message you got when I gave you a longing look after I got my memory back in the park'. Sharon was half surprised and half anticipated his answers because she knew deep in her heart and head all along that Alden always loved her and she him. 'I know Alden, but that doesn't answer why you weren't very physical with me in the beginning unlike the way you were with Marlo...' She drifted off trying to erase the memories of Alden constantly kissing Marlo and running after her. 'Do you hear yourself Sharon? What I had with Marlo WAS only physical we didn't have anything as emotional or as intense as me and you had. Me and you are platonic do you remember saying that on a voicemail?' Alden teased her briefly and then went on to say 'I swear Sharon I'm not going to leave you again I promise'. Sharon almost melted on the spot when he said that, the only thing she could do was nod, kiss him and reassure him she felt the exact same way. Hands together again and feeling a LOT better Sharon was bursting with love and felt giddy. Alden must have sensed this as well, since he leaned into her ear and murmured, 'Your right about our lack of physical connection, how about we make up for lost time?' Okay now THIS really frazzled Sharon and sent her hyperventilating inwards. Was she surprised at his lust for her? Not really, he was 15 now and she was almost as well this coming week. They had all matured, Alden especially, since when he was first with her he was childish and immature like Broke. Gradually he became more mature when he got together with Marlo and understood better about relationships. Having said that, Sharon knew that the only reason why he was so good to Marlo was because at times he wasn't very considerate of Sharon's feelings and probably felt guilty. Sharon on the other hand was also maturing. Her MOM was even right to say that Sharon would blossom eventually when Sharon kept getting mistaken for a 13 year when she was really 14. She was now a growing B cup, had wider hips and wasn't so skinny to the point where she looked like she had limbs made of twigs. Nonetheless, although her hormones were at their highest point this was a territory that despite her curiosity she wasn't ready for. That curiosity stemmed from the time that Sharon accidently found porn while looking for 'Little Red Riding hood' on the Internet. 'We'll see' is what Sharon eventually whispered back feeling hot and nervous. Alden dropped her off at her house and with a final kiss and a wave left.

Behind the closed door, Sharon leaned on it for a few seconds trying to gather her strength and wait for her stomach's painful butterflies that made her think she had to go to the bathroom leave. She was about to go upstairs to the bathroom and get ready for bed when her mom called her into the kitchen to have a word. 'Sharon can you sit down for a minute I need to talk to you', Sharon hoped it wasn't serious. She hated the words 'I need to talk to you' more than anything in the world, most of the time it wasn't good news. 'Sure mom, but can we hurry it up I'm really tired' Sharon said in an attempt to cut the conversation short, go to bed and think about her evening with Alden in all its tantalising details. 'I can't believe I'm saying this to you Sharon, but David has convinced me to go on vacation with him again, not to Hawaii but to South Carolina where it will be cool' Helen Spitz made a face remembering her and David's painful sunburns. 'Now you know Adam and Josh are going to Miami to visit your father and Lauren this weekend which you surprisingly didn't want to go' She raised her eyebrows at Sharon still not believing her refusal to go since she loves her father to death and loves spending time with him, even if he now shares his life with Lauren. 'So we are left in a strange situation, I can't leave you all alone again, no that won't happen, but I'm thinking either you go to Maria's for the weekend or maybe Maria can stay with you here' Sharon liked the latter best, especially since an idea was starting to form in her mind. 'Well you know mom, Maria's sister is going to be around this weekend and the Wong's are short on space. You know in an apartment and all, so I think it'd be best if Maria stays here it will give her a break from her older sister and I can stretch my legs out in an organized place' Sharon coaxed remembering details Maria told her and her own experiences staying with the Wong's. Okay so their house wasn't totally messy but Maria's room was and Sharon just couldn't stand messy and unorganized rooms it drove her crazy. Her mom once again raised her eyebrows, but being a therapist Helen had to try and be understanding. She knew better than to agree, but she also wanted to trust her daughter to not make any major mistakes or ruin her household which she thought Sharon was capable enough to handle. Despite the home alone debacle Sharon up until the end was very responsible and this was her daughter's chance to earn her complete trust again. 'Okay, this may not be a typical decision that I usually make nor should you expect me to always be so lenient, but you and Maria can stay here' She finally managed to say with little difficulty. Sharon was over the moon, but she tried to hide it so that her mom wouldn't suspect anything and just nodded saying 'I won't let you down mom I swear, this house is going to look better than when you left it' she got up and ran upstairs, Helen hoped that would be the case when she returned.


End file.
